Delhi film festival turnout
The International Film Festival of Delhi wrapped with over 30,000 attendees and 125 films from 47 countries, with programming stressing cinematic heritage and national icons. (devdiscourse.com) The scale suggests rising local appetite for heritage‑forward cultural events in Old Delhi’s broader arts calendar. (devdiscourse.com)
The week‑long festival ran March 25–31, 2026 with Bharat Mandapam designated as the primary hub under the Delhi Film Policy and organised by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation. (iffdelhi.com) IFFD programmed a dedicated industry strand — CineXchange — alongside a CineVerse Expo that showcased technology, installations and an AI hackathon, with market accreditation and panels scheduled to run during March 25–31. (cinexchange.iffdelhi.com) Organisers say the selected lineup was culled from an applicant pool exceeding 2,100 submissions drawn from more than 100 countries, reflecting a large submission pipeline behind the festival slate. (exhibitionglobe.com) Screenings and events were staged across Bharat Mandapam, PVR‑INOX multiplexes and curated public sites — including inflatable/open‑air theatres and mobile LED units deployed at neighbourhood venues — to reach audiences beyond conventional cinemas. (aninews.in) Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented at the opening ceremonies to Sharmila Tagore, Dharmendra (honoured posthumously) and Nandamuri Balakrishna, and the festival opened with Sirât, directed by Oliver Laxe. (varietyindia.com) All public screenings were offered free of charge subject to prior online registration, CineXchange registration was reported closed ahead of the festival, and organisers framed the event as a city‑wide cultural activation to spotlight Delhi’s heritage sites to visiting filmmakers. (aninews.in)
